Certainly the skill sets of Letang and Karlsson are closer to each other than the players you listed. They also broke into the NHL at roughly the same age, unlike the players you listed. Karlsson is a better skater, better passer and (much much) better shooter than Letang. Yes, Letang is stronger and better in his own end to some degree, but to a lesser degree than the previous attributes listed (skating is close). Karlsson also won the Norris Trophy at 21 (youngest since 1976). Letang = never nominated. Karlsson = NHL first All-Star team. Letang = never first All-Star Team. These two are close?

Whoa, a better skater than Letang? I really like Karlsson, but I think Letang is one of the better skaters in the NHL. I do admit though, I never really focused on Karlsson all that much to watch his skating.

As for the other things, Karlsson's break offensive season helped get him noticed for the Norris (I thought Doughty won at like 21? Or did I dream that?) and first team all-star. Fantastic defenseman but I don't think Karlsson has a significant advantage over Letang. Its a toss up really.

I mean, you're matching Karlsson's lone peak season vs. Letang's entire body of work...Letang has a 6th and 9th place Norris and a "third" team all-star...so it's not like Letang is so far out there that Karlsson is off in the distance...

Randy Carlyle has a Norris and Scott Stevens doesn't...

They're both top-10 d-men in the league and since I usually base my opinions on players over a longer stretch of time, I'd still say they're pretty close. If Karlsson puts up another historically good season and Letang becomes the 2nd best d-men on the Penguins, then ok, you got something...but I'd like to see what Karlsson can do next season before I start annointing anyone king of the world...

Rylan wrote:Whoa, a better skater than Letang? I really like Karlsson, but I think Letang is one of the better skaters in the NHL. I do admit though, I never really focused on Karlsson all that much to watch his skating.

As for the other things, Karlsson's break offensive season helped get him noticed for the Norris (I thought Doughty won at like 21? Or did I dream that?) and first team all-star. Fantastic defenseman but I don't think Karlsson has a significant advantage over Letang. Its a toss up really.

- Doughty has never won a Norris nor has he been a first-team all-star- Karlsson is a better skater than Letang, not by much, but he is. Karlsson is poetry in motion.- Karlsson had a historically good offensive season vs. his peers and deserved the Norris. Also of note, Letang got some serious Norris love (relatively speaking) despite missing half the season, says a lot about his reputation throughout the league.

Rylan wrote:Whoa, a better skater than Letang? I really like Karlsson, but I think Letang is one of the better skaters in the NHL. I do admit though, I never really focused on Karlsson all that much to watch his skating.

As for the other things, Karlsson's break offensive season helped get him noticed for the Norris (I thought Doughty won at like 21? Or did I dream that?) and first team all-star. Fantastic defenseman but I don't think Karlsson has a significant advantage over Letang. Its a toss up really.

- Doughty has never won a Norris nor has he been a first-team all-star- Karlsson is a better skater than Letang, not by much, but he is. Karlsson is poetry in motion.- Karlsson had a historically good offensive season vs. his peers and deserved the Norris. Also of note, Letang got some serious Norris love (relatively speaking) despite missing half the season, says a lot about his reputation throughout the league.

Thanks. Did Doughty finish in the top 3 once or did I also make that up?

Fair enough, I get bored with the Sens and really didn't watch them all that much this season.

But, I don't disagree that Karlsson deserved his Norris trophy. I honestly feel he should have finished higher in the Hart but alas it was not to be.

Rylan wrote:Do you think the Lester (Lindsay I guess) has a better chance for a defenseman to win?

Nope, it's only be won once by a d-man (Orr) one time (1975)...so if it's only begrudingly given to Orr one time, so no, it's even less of a d-man's award...I mean, Jean Ratelle won it head to head with Orr for crying out loud...you'd think the players would have a little better insight, but alas, they don't...

Karlsson is a helluva talent and I'd take him in a heartbeat. He is better now than Letang was at the same age. However, I think the poll is measuring how they stack up against each other in 2012. That's tough too as they really are vastly different players and they fill different roles on their respective teams. I think a better comparison to Karlsson would be Mike Green of Washington.

Letang is SIGNIFICANTLY better in his own end than Karlsson and that is beyond debate. Also, Letang plays with a much sharper edge to his game and is MUCH more difficult to play against. Karlsson is definitely a more refined offensive player than his Pittsburgh counterpart and is in fact among the top offensive defensemen in the league. Additionally, I predict that Karlsson's numbers will likely continue to climb - he is no fluke. However Karlsson is a defenseman, not a rover, and he has a LOOOOONG way to go in his own end which is one of the reasons why he is a minus-19 for his career despite just putting up a 78 point season.

Again, I would take Karlsson in a New York minute so this is not an anti Karlsson post. Also, Letang can be maddeningly inconsistent - especially when he tries to do too much. However, to me scoring is a secondary expectation for a defenseman and when the measurement is how well they do in their own end, I'd take the Pittsburgh defenseman 10 out of 10 times and so too I suspect would most NHL GM's.

If you take Karlsson in this debate it is for what you think he could become in 2014 and beyond. As of July of 2012, Letang is the better overall player.

Maybe karlsson is a "better" skater, but letang may be a more "effective" skater. His recovery speed is off the charts. His ability to stretch out his range on the ice is something that directly leads to big plays in both ends. I don't watch enough of karlsson to say that he doesn't have the same range, but I doubt that he does.